Proton decay branching ratio for the 6.15-MeV 18Ne level...

The 14O(α, p)17F reaction is an important trigger to the αp process in x-ray bursts. Only limited information
is available from direct measurements of the reaction cross section, and the time-inverse 17F(p, α)14O reaction
has been frequently used to constrain the astrophysical reaction rate. These time-inverse measurements must
be complemented by inelastic 17F(p, p
)17F∗ studies to constrain branches populating the first excited state of
17F. Discrepancies in the literature are examined in relationship to directly measured 17F(p, p
)17F∗ data, and it
is shown that a resolution is possible. Claims of alternative spin assignments for the 6.15-MeV level are also
discussed in relationship to the measured inelastic data.